Unanswered Question: Suicide or Murder?
by Jessie Immortal
Summary: Kakashi fails to show up for training two days in a row so Rin, Obito, and Minato go looking for him only to find him dead. Minato believes it's suicide but his teammates arent so sure. And is Kakashi really dead, or is it a cover for something bigger?
1. Finding Him

_**A/N:**_ this takes place a few months after the Kakashi Gaiden, but with a twist. Obito is still alive and Kakashi still has both his regular eyes. Spoilers for Yondaime's name, you've been warned. I got the idea for this story from a prompt on the ObiKaka community on Livejournal, but i twisted it a bit, and this story won't be a yaoi (sorry to disappoint) more like a family-like relationship.

Title subject to change (I hate it XP)

Disclaimer: Alas, I don't own Naruto, I've tried about everything but Blackmail to get it, but Kishimoto-sama won't hand it over. Maybe I should try blackmail...

Enjoy!

"Man! I can't believe Kakashi has the balls to complain about me being late!" Obito whined loudly. "_I_ actually got here before _him_!"

Rin giggled slightly, but was too concerned for her third teammate to really laugh.

"Maybe he's sick or something," Rin said, though she knew that wasn't a good excuse. Kakashi, sick or not, always showed early for training. Something had to be wrong.

"Well, there is a first time for everything!" Minato tried to smile at his students, concealing his own worry for the silver haired Hatake. They were scheduled to meet an hour ago (Obito just showed up) therefore, he had expected Kakashi to show up an hour and a half ago. For the young Hatake to be late, something was up, but he couldn't jump to conclusions and worry Rin and Obito over nothing.

"We'll continue training without him," he said decisively. "It's possible he could just be sick, Kakashi is still human after all. We shouldn't jump to conclusions here."

Rin nodded looking slightly more reassured and followed Minato to the training grounds. Obito followed a few paces behind them.

_'Something's not right... I just can't shake this bad feeling... Kakashi...'_

"Obito! Hurry it up!"

"Ah! W-wait up Rin!"

The next day Team Minato was scheduled to meet at the bridge at noon. Noon came and went, and there was no Kakashi in sight.

"Sensei..." Rin said uncertainly. Even Obito looked worried.

"C'mon, we're going to go check on him," Minato said firmly.

They walked across town to the old Hatake Estate, where Kakashi still lived even after his father's death. Minato slowly pushed the gates open. They were unlocked, and the wards were down. Minato's uneasiness only grew.

"Kakashi!" He called out. He ran into the house, Obito and Rin at his heels.

No answer. "Kakashi!" He called again, louder this time. Still no answer.

Casting worried glances at each other, they fanned out and searched the house.

_'What on Earth is going on here? Kakashi, where are you?'_ Obito thought. He glanced into a room that he assumed was Kakashi's bedroom. The bed was neatly made and the whole room was spotless. It looked like nobody had been in there for weeks. _'Either that or Kakashi is more prissy than I originally thought.'_ Obito smirked.

Rin's ear shattering scream pierced through the silence in the old house. Fearing the worse, Obito bolted from the bedroom to where her scream came from. On the way, he almost ran into Minato, who looked as panic striken as he felt.

They stopped at a door which Minato recognized to be Kakashi's father Sakumo's old study. Sheer dread curled in the pit of Minato's stomach and he couldn't bring himself to open the door. Obito did that for him.

"Rin!" He darted into the room only to freeze in his tracks. Minato followed after him, and time seemed to freeze as he surveyed the sight before him.

Kakashi lay in the middle of the study on his side, his father's tanto sticking out of his stomach as he lay in a large pool of blood. His eyes were blank and staring, no trace of life left in them.

Rin, who had been standing next to the doorway frozen, recovered first and ran to the silver haired boy's side. Obito followed soon after, but Minato stayed frozen in place, horrifying images flashing through his mind.

_A small silver haired boy, no older than six, clinging to his father's corpse where it lay on the study floor, his sword in his stomach. Blood soaked the little boy's clothing and tears were streaming down his face._

_"Daddy! Daddy please, don't leave me alone! I don't want to be alone! DADDY!"_

_Minato swiftly walked over to the young child and tried to scoop him into his arms, but little Kakashi only clung to his father tighter._

_"NO! I can't leave him, he's all I have left!"_

_Choking back tears of his own, the blonde pried the small boy's hands away from the corpse and pulled him into his strong arms. He left the room, Kakashi struggling in vain to return to his father's side._

_"Put me down Sensei! Daddy! Please, I have to stay with Daddy!"_

_Minato simply held him tighter in his embrace and carried him to the Hokage's office._

Minato was pulled out of the past by Rin's heartbroken sob.

"Kakashi! Kakashi, please answer me!" She had pulled the tanto out of his gut and was desperately trying to heal the gaping wound, while Obito merely stared down at them, a look akin to horror on his face.

Minato forced his body to move and ran to his students. He gently pulled Rin's hands away from Kakashi's wound before she killed herself trying to heal someone who was clearly dead. Minato gazed sadly into his student's dulled onyx eyes before he gently laid his hands over them and closed them.

"Noooo!" Rin sobbed. She flung herself into Obito's arms and cried into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her trembling form and held her whiled she cried, tears streaming down his own face as well.

Minato gazed at them sadly for awhile, then gently turned his silver haired student's corpse over on his back so he could better examine the wound. He gasped softly. Rin and Obito turned to look at him.

"Suicide," Minato whispered. "But why...?"

"No!" Obito said firmly. "Kakashi wouldn't do that! He wouldn't take the easy way out! You of all people should know that Sensei!" Obito glared at the man. "Someone...Some _monster_, did this to Kakashi! We've gotta find out who did it and avenge him!" Rin wiped her eyes and nodded fiercely, her eyes glittering with determination to avenge her fallen friend.

Minato sighed sadly. The boy was in denial. "Obito," he said softly,"Look at this wound. It's clearly self-inflicted." He gazed sadly at Kakashi's pale face and absently stroked some of the boy's vibrant silver hair out of his eyes. "Kakashi's had a hard life from the very beginning. His mother died shortly after his birth, and his father died when he was six. Perhaps it all just became to much for him to handle."

"NO!" Obito shouted it this time. "How could you think that! There's just no way Kakashi would just leave us like this!" He dropped to his knees and pounded his fist into the worn tatami mats that covered the floor. "He wouldn't..." he trailed off sadly.

"I'm sorry," Minato said softly. "Of course, there will have to be an investigation, suicide or not. Maybe the ANBU will pick up on something we didn't. But we need to report this." He lifted Kakashi's body into his arms. "I'm going to the Hokage, you two go home, there will be no more training the rest of this week." His hands formed the seals for the Shunshin no Jutsu, and before Rin or Obito could protest, he was gone.

"Obito,"Rin said, her voice quivering. "Do you really believe someone killed Kakashi-kun?"

Obito looked at her. She had never seen his face so serious before. "I _know it_. Kakashi wouldn't just leave us voluntarily." He took her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. We're gonna find out who did this and make them pay! C'mon, how 'bout I walk you home."

She nodded, feeling slightly better. _'Don't you worry Kakashi. We'll make those bastards pay!'_

But as they walked away, Obito couldn't help but wonder. _'Who did this? And...to take Kakashi down, just how strong are they?'_

But the biggest question of all...

_'Why?'_

"K-Kakashi-kun?!" For a split second, the Hokage looked startled, but reigned in his emotions quickly. "What happened?" He asked in a calmer tone, though Minato could still see the lingering shock and sadness in the older man's eyes.

"I believe it's suicide," Minato forced his voice not to quiver with his unshed tears that were desperate to come out. "but Rin and Obito believe otherwise."

The Sandaime stood up from behind his desk and came over to examine the corpse Minato held in his arms. Upon seeing the wound he let out a sad sigh.

"It's just like Sakumo..." The man trailed off. He sighed again and layed a hand on the boy's cold forehead. For a moment, neither man spoke.

Sandaime finally broke the silence. "Leave the boy here. I will have ANBU start the investigation right away, though it's fairly obvious what happened. Minato," the man's expression softened. "I insist that you and your team take some time off to mourn, this must be hard on you."

Minato could only nod, not trusting his voice at the moment. As he handed Kakashi's body over to Sandaime, he couldn't help but feel like he was handing over the corpse of one of his own children. Overcome by his emotion, his performed another Shunshin and teleported to his home. There, he collapsed on his bed and started sobbing.

_Kakashi curled up defensless in a corner of the study, eyes wide and terrified. Obito could only watch as a faceless shinobi advanced on the trembling chuunin. Obito wondered why Kakashi didn't fight back, and flinched as the figure harshly kicked the boy in the side, sending him to the center of the room. Obito felt his heart tearing as Kakashi curled tightly into himself, trying not to show his tears. He ran to his teammate's side and tried to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder, but his hand passed right through him._

_"Wha?..."_

_Suddenly a foot came out of nowhere and kicked Kakashi over onto his back. Obito watched, helpless and horrified as the shinobi took the tanto that was in his hand and shoved it mercilessly into the boy's stomach and twisted it, rupturing several organs. Kakashi bit back a scream as blood spilled out of his mouth and stomach in a torrent. The figure gave a harsh laugh and ripped the weapon out of Kakashi's small body. The fresh blood on the blade glinted evilly in the moonlight that filtered in through the window, sending shivers down Obito's spine and making him nauseous._

_The faceless shinobi raised the sword over his head, preparing to strike the final blow. Kakashi lay motionless on the floor, disoriented from bloodloss. A scream ripped itself out of Obito's throat as he tried in vain to help his teammate, but his feet were rooted to the floor and he could only watch as the figure brought the blade down on Kakashi's neck, severing his head and spilling more blood onto the already stained floor..._

"NO!" Obito awoke with a scream, panting loudly and drenched in an ice cold sweat. Terrified, he whipped his head around his room, expecting to see a headless Kakashi lying on his floor, saturating his white carpet with blood and staining it red. He sighed with relief.

_'It was only a dream...'_ But the relief soon drained away and was replaced with a cold feeling curling in his gut and spreading to his extremities. _'But it doesn't matter, Kakashi's dead anyway...'_ Tears spilled down his cheeks and he clenched his bedsheets in his hands. _'Kakashi... you were always such an emotionless jerk, and we argued all the time, but I always knew deep down, that you cared about us. Me, you, Rin, and Sensei, we're all a family now. Why did you have to die?'_ Obito couldn't control it anymore. Not wanting to wake his family, he burried his face into his pillow and sobbed, pounding his fist repeatedly into it.

_'Why why why why why WHY DAMNIT!'_

"I'm sorry Obito, but even the ANBU said that all the evidence pointed to suicide." Minato stared sadly at his fuming students.

"You guys just don't get it! Kakashi wouldn't do this!" Obito glared at Minato, angry at him for doubting Kakashi's will to live.

"He's right Sensei!" Rin glared at the blonde haired man as well.

Minato sighed for the umpteenth time that day and pulled his remaining two students into a tight embrace. "I know it's hard, but-"

"NO!" Obito and Rin both pushed out of the embrace.

"Come on Rin," Obito grabbed her hand and started walking away. "If they aren't gonna do anything, we'll just have to do it ourselves!

"Obito! Rin! Come back here!" Minato started after them, but they resolutely ignored him. "Guys!" He stopped. _'Give them time, they'll eventually accept it, I know I'm gonna need sometime.'_

Minato sighed again and headed towards the mission room. He needed to get his mind away from this. A nice A-rank mission should do it.

_'Kakashi, how could you do this? Didn't you realize how much you'd be missed?'_

Wiping away a stray tear, he quickened his pace, trying to rid his mind of bright silver hair and deep onyx eyes.

OWARI

Obito and Rin say murder, Minato and everyone else say suicide. Who's right? You'll just have to wait and find out!

Love it, hate it, let me know! And if anyone has any ideas where they want this story to go, let me know, i pretty much have it all figured out, but give me a good idea and I'll try to integrate it into the story XD


	2. Genjutsu

A/N: err........*hides under desk* heheh sorry I haven't updated in forever, but there was this thing, I think it's called "Life", that got in the way. But I'm back, and hopefully i'll be able to update more often. Gomennassai. ^^;; Also, this may be confusing but the mission to the bridge already happened in this, except Kakashi didn't loose his eye and Obito is still alive. sorry if that confuses or annoys you. So I guess that makes this story an AU.

Disclaimer: I don't own. If I did, Kakashi would definately be Hokage ;D.

* * *

"Obito," Rin whispered anxiously. "I really don't think we should be here!"

"C'mon Rin! What better way to prove Kakashi _didn't _kill himself, then to prove that that wound wasn't self inflicted!" Obito smiled grimly at her. She only shook her head as she followed him down the long dark hallway to the morgue.

"If the ANBU couldn't find anything, what makes you think we can?" she asked doubtfully.

"Because _we _actually care about him." Obito muttered darkly. "Aha!" he pulled open the door. Rin's face went sheet white when she saw Kakashi's body on the autopsy table, and tears filled her eyes.

"Obito," she sobbed. "I don't think I can do this!"

Obito gently rested a hand on her shoulder, then walked over to the body of his teammate and friend. He shuddered as he remembered his nightmare, but forced himself to look over every inch of the body, desperately searching for something, _anything,_ that would help him.

"Dammit!" he snarled. He pounded his fist on the table, it really did look like.....

Rin's small hand came to rest on his shoulder, much like he did to her earlier. He jumped. He didn't even sense her approach.

She gave him a watery smile then pulled him into a gentle embrace. Surrounded by her comforting arms, Obito let loose the tears he had been trying to keep at bay.

"It's not fair!" he choked. "How could he do this to us!?"

"I don't know," Rin whispered. "I just don't know."

It seemed like an eternity before they broke apart, and turned to gaze sadly at their dead teammate's face one more time. Obito sighed heavily and turned to leave, when Rin's arm suddenly whipped out and stopped him. He looked at her questioningly, but her gaze was locked on Kakashi.

"Obito," she said slowly. "Do you remember our mission to destroy the bridge a few months ago?"

Obito shuddered, like he could forget. They had all nearly lost their lives on that one, the only good thing out of it was that he had gained his sharingan.

"Yeah, why?"

She turned to him, pure glee in her eyes. "Do you remember how that rock nin had sliced Kakashi's shoulder open? Do you remember the nasty scar it left?"

Obito nodded dumbly, wondering what the hell was wrong with her. "Yeah, so what?"

Rin pointed happily at Kakashi's arm. "So... where's the scar?"

Obito frowned and looked at Kakashi's arm, only to gape as he saw nothing but smooth pale skin where there should have been a deep jagged scar.

A wide grin slowly made its way across his face. _'This body....it's not Kakashi.... then who?'_ Obito frowned and activated his sharingan. Rin stared at him.

"Obito, what are you--?"

"If this body isn't Kakashi's then who's is it?" he stared intently at the body. Then is frown deepened. "No wonder the ANBU couldn't find anything, this is a hell of a genjutsu. Rin, I'm gonna need your help."

She nodded at him and stood next to him, placing her hand on top of Obito's, which rested on "Kakashi's" chest.

"Kai!" They both shouted. At first, nothing happened, but then the illusion began to break right before their eyes.

The face of Kakashi melted off the body and transformed into the face of a man who looked to be in his early thirties. A rock hitai-ate rested on his forehead, and the rest of the body transformed as well.

Rin and Obito stared in shock than turned to each other with smiles that could split their faces in two. Then they hugged each other tightly.

"It's not him! It's not him!" Rin sobbed happily. "It's not him Obito!"

"I know I know!" Obito laughed hysterically. For a moment they just stood there, content in the knowledge that it wasn't their friend that lay still and lifeless on the autopsy table. But all too soon shinobi mode began to kick back in and they pulled apart.

"If it's not Kakashi, then where is he?" Obito asked solemnly.

"And why would someone go to so much trouble to fake his death? He's obviously still alive if they went to all this trouble." Rin added.

Neither of them voiced the thought in their heads. _'At least for the moment.'_

"Either way, we have to let sensei as well as Hokage-Sama know about this!" Obito said. "Who know what could be happening to Kakashi right now!"

Rin nodded vigorously and followed Obito as they dashed out of the morgue to Hokage Tower.

* * *

"Minato!" The Sandaime said sternly. "This has to stop!" He stared worriedly at the exhausted young jounin before him. Ever since Kakashi's death, the younger man had been working himself into the ground, taking mission after mission, desperate for anything to help him forget.

"Please Sandaime-Sama!" Minato begged. "I...I need this, just one more mission!"

"No!" the old man said sternly. "I will not have one of my most promising young shinobi kill himself like this!" Sandaime instantly regretted his choice of words as he saw the younger man wince.

"Minato," he said softly. "I know how hard this is, but think about Obito and Rin, what they must be going through right now. When was the last time you even saw the two of them?"

Minato's eyes widened. _'Shit shit SHIT! How could I have forgotten about them!?'_ "Forgive me Sandaime-Sama. You are right, and I must go find them right away."

Just as he turned to leave the door busted open and the two shinobi Minato had been thinking about came crashing into the room.

"Obito!? Rin!? What's going on here?"

Rin looked up at him and grinned. "Sensei! We did it!"

Minato and Sandaime only looked at her in confusion.

"We proved that Kakashi didn't kill himself!"

Minato sighed, his heart heavy. "Obito-"

"NO! He's right! Sandaime-Sama, you must come to the morgue with us! That body in there isn't Kakashi's!" Minato's eyes widened.

"T-that's ridiculous, even the ANBU couldn't-"

"The ANBU don't have the sharingan." Obito's eyes swirled red to help prove his point.

Minato turned to look at the Sandaime, who nodded at him.

"We shall go."

* * *

Minato and the Hokage's eyes simultaneously widened in shock as they surveyed the body on the table.

"A rock nin, but...how?"

"It was a genjutsu Sensei, and a damn good one too. It took me and Rin together to break it."

Minato stared at his two students, his eyes alight with pride and joy. He pulled them into a strong embrace.

"You two," he choked, "you two are incredible, I'm so sorry I didn't believe you."

Rin and Obito felt theirs sensei's tears and hugged him back tightly. The Sandaime smiled as he watched them for a moment, but then returned his attention to the nin on the table.

"I will call the ANBU and arrange a search. Don't worry we will find him."

"With all due respect sir," Minato said. "I think my team should-"

"No." the Hokage said firmly. "You are too involved in this, and it is quite possible that whoever took Kakashi-kun will come back and try to take one of you as well. It's too risky, until we find out what's going on, none of you are to leave the village."

"But-" Obito began to protest angrily, but Minato's hand clamped over his mouth.

"Yes Sandaime-Sama." Minato bowed his head respectfully.

Sandaime stared at him for a moment, then nodded and left. "I will let you know if we find anything."

Minato waited until he was sure the Hokage was gone, then released his furious student.

"Sensei! We can't just sit back on our asses and let the ABNU handle this! Kakashi's _our_ teammate!"

"First of all I don't ever want to hear you talk like that again Obito you're too young to be speaking like that. Secondly." an evil smirk spread across his face. "Who said anything about sitting out on this? We just needed Sandaime-Sama to _think _we're giving in."

Twin smirks grew on Rin and Obito's faces. Their sensei was truely evil.

"Come on," Minato said. "We'll go to my place and make a plan."

The two nodded and followed their teacher out of the morgue.

* * *

Meanwhile several miles away in Rock Territory, a small silver haired boy huddled in a grimy corner, terror visible on his face as a large shadow loomed over him.

"Please feel free to scream," the figure said in a sickly sweet voice. "After all, no one's going to hear you."

* * *

OWARI

soo.... you likie? let me know? also if anyone has any suggestions, i'm open for anything! *hugs*


	3. The Race Begins

A/N: I'm so sorry! I swear I didn't mean to take so long with an update! Honestly I've had major writer's block with this story for awhile, but last week inspiration sucker-punched me in the face and heres the result! An extra long chappie as an apology. Lots of dialogue in the beginning but it gets better.

A big thank you to Rangerfan58 for sending me PMs to update :)

Also plz read the A/N at the end, I can't put it here because of spoilers, but it's important!

* * *

Minato stared sadly at his remaining students. They lay sleeping uneasily in his living room, ready to put their plan into action at first light.

_It is a good plan._

_~Earlier that same day~_

_"Okay, so how are we going to get out of the village?" Rin asked curiously. She looked to her sensei questioningly but it was Obito who answered._

_"I say we beat up anyone in our way!" he declared loudly. Rin winced._

_"Obito-kun, I don't think-"_

_"C'mon Rin, it'll be fun!"_

_WHACK!!_

_"Ouch! What was that for?!"_

_"This isn't a game Obito! Kakashi's life is on the line here!"_

_Obito sobered up immediately._

_Minato, who had remained silent throughout the entire argument, gazed thoughtfully at them while he scratched his chin in consideration._

_"I don't know Rin-chan, that may just work."_

_The two chuunin stared at him._

_"WHAAT!?"_

_"Think about it. Obviously it's going to need more finesse, but it could work......." He trailed off. Obito's eye twitched._

_"Sensei! Spit it out already!"_

_"Do you two think you can handle the guards stationed at the Main Gate?" Minato asked seriously._

_Rin looked uncertain, but Obito stood up and yelled "Hell yeah! No one's standing between me and the bastard who took my friend!"_

_"Obito," Rin tugged at his sleeve until he looked at her. "The guards will be jounin, even together we're probably no match for them. We'd need...." she trailed off, but what she didn't say echoed loudly in the silent room. _"We'd need Kakashi."

_"Yeah... guess you're right,"_ _Obito muttered. The two looked questioningly at their sensei, since his suggestion obviously wouldn't work._

_For a moment, their yellow-haired sensei seemed to be at a loss, then his trademark megawatt grin suddenly reappeared. _

_"What are you two talking about? Of course you can take 'em!"_

_"HUH!?"_

_Minato nodded then made hand signs. "Kagebunshin no jutsu!"_

_Two identical clones of himself appeared, and they too made hand signs. "Henge!"_

_The clones transformed themselves into Rin and Obito. The real chuunins grinned at their sensei's genius._

_"This is perfect sensei!" Obito grinned. They were getting closer. 'We're coming for you Kakashi.'_

_"Yup," Minato agreed, very pleased with himself. The bunshins disappeared in a poof of smoke. "When the clones take out the guards I can come running after you like I'm trying to stop you from doing something foolish. By the time anyone suspects anything we'll be near Earth's borders."_

_"Yeah!" Obito pumped his fist into the air and Rin jumped up and down excitedly._

_"But first," Minato glanced at the darkening sky outside his window. "We rest. This is going to be difficult. It will be best if we treat it like a mission." He walked over to a closet and pulled out some blankets and a couple pillows. "You two can stay here for the night. We'll leave tomorrow morning right before they change guards, they will be tired and easier to take down, which will make this more believable."_

_Rin and Obito nodded and curled up on the floor. They layed close together, as if to protect each other from the harm that had befallen their teamate. Minato smiled and went to his room. A minute later he walked out with another pillow and blanket and layed down on the other side of Rin._

_~Present~_

_'A good plan indeed. Too bad it will never be put into action.'_

Minato silently crept over to his door, pausing wearily when Rin moaned slightly and turned in her sleep. His heart ached at the pained expression on her face. He knew the only way to wipe away her pain would be to get Kakashi back alive. Resolve strengthened, he grabbed his pack and silently left the apartment.

_'Whoever took Kakashi is going to pay dearly,' _Minato thought grimly as he ran quietly on top of buildings. The sun was just begining to peak over the horizon, bathing Konoha in a pale light and creating a serene beauty. Civilians slept peacefully, mercifully oblivious to the outside world around them, tucked safely into the land of their dreams where the horrors of war couldn't reach them.

_'If only they knew, but I suppose it's for the best that they don't.'_

Minato stopped as he reached the main gates to the village. Because of the war, security was especially tight around the entrances to the village, and it would be near impossible to get through. _'This is where Obito's plan would've been perfect.'_ He didn't think he would be very successful trying to sneak past the guards. They were especially trained for this sort of thing.

_'Hmm what to do. I wonder...."_ Minato glanced again at the guards and was pleased to see that Jiraiya was among them. Maybe he had hope after all. He grinned as a plan formed in his mind. It would either work brilliantly or it was incredibly stupid and would get him in a mess of trouble, but either way he was about to find out.

Minato left his hiding place and walked towards the gate in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner. Jiraiya was the first to notice him.

"Hey brat! Where do you think your going?"

Minato fished around in his pack and held up a scroll. "Playing messenger boy for the Hokage."

Jiraiya eyed him suspiciously. "Really? I heard the old man's got you restricted to the village after what happened to Kakashi."

Minato's pulse quickened. _'Shit. I was hoping word hadn't spread quite yet. Oh well, time to bullshit.'_ He gave a pained smile. "Unfortunately, war can't stop just because I've lost one of my students. Sandaime needs me out there, but he's restricted Rin and Obito to the village. Needless to say they're less than pleased, but it makes me feel much better knowing they're safe within the walls of the village."

Jiraiya continued to stare at him, and for a second Minato thought he had seen through him. It definately wasn't his best lie, but dammit he was stressed out and working under pressure here.

Minato barely held in a sigh of relief as Jiraiya's expression softened. "Knowing you, you probably nagged him until he gave you a mission. I know it's hard Minato, I was rather fond of the Hatake runt myself, but don't run yourself into the ground."

Minato nodded to him and started to head through the gates when the other guard, a hard faced jounin whose name Minato didn't know, held out an arm to stop him, still frowing suspiciously.

"Hold on Jiraiya-sama, how do you know he's telling the truth? I don't recall hearing the Hokage lift his restriction. I say we check the scroll."

Minato was saved from trying (and probably failing) to come up with another excuse when Jiraiya turned and glared at the man. The jounin blanched. Pissing off a Sannin probably wasn't the best idea.

"Are you doubting his integrity? I'll have you know that he happens to be a student of mine, so if you doubt him, then you doubt me!" Jiraiya was now inches from the man's face.

"Never sir! Forgive me. Namikaze-san, you may pass."

Minato grinned brightly and made for the gates, hoping to get out of there before he had anymore holdups. Just as he crossed the threshold, he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. He turned. Jiraiya was staring solemnly at him.

"Bring Kakashi-kun back safely, ok?"

Minato's blue eyes widened. _'He knows?! Then why...'_

Jiraiya didn't offer any explanation, but simply nodded and headed back to his post. The hard faced jounin was still glaring at him.

Without another word, Minato turned and lept into the trees, relief and gratitude rushing through him. He would have to thank his sensei when he got back to the village. He never would've gotten through the gate without him. _'It's a good thing they didn't check the scroll,'_ he thought, grinning ruefully. _'I would've been in big trouble when they saw it was blank.'_

He jumped to the ground and paused to find his bearings. _'Let's see, I'm about three miles out from the village, I should make it to the border by nightfall.'_ He was about to leap back into the trees when a voice behind him made him freeze.

"And where do you think you're going?"

* * *

Kakashi shifted against the chains holding him and bit his lip as his body screamed in protest. _'Damn, won't get far in this condition. Still, anywhere is better than here.'_ He had to get out of there fast. He'd overheard a conversation his tormentor had had with the man who seemed to be incharge. They were speaking in code, but he'd understood enough to know that if they couldn't get information out of him soon they were going to kill him. He wasn't called a genius for nothing. But still, he couldn't let them kill him, at least not yet. He had to warn his sensei first.

He yanked at his chains with renewed vigor, this time stubbornly ignoring his screaming body. He'd be damned if he showed anymore weakness then he already had. The chains clattered noisily as he shook them. One thing that leaned in his favor, the shackles were slightly large on him, obviously meant for an adult, not a thirteen year old, and Kakashi was already rather skinny for his age. However, they weren't quite large enough for him to slip his hands through, no matter how much he twisted them.

He had tried yanking them straight off their rusty bolts but the rust attached it to the wall more tightly than the bolts themselves. Kakashi sighed. He could only think of one more way to get at least one hand out, and he wasn't looking forward to it.

Kakashi let out a shaky breath and tried to steel his resolve. _'Get a grip Hatake! Too much is at stake here for you to wimp out over a little pain! Now's the best time to do it!' _It was true. Save for a few chuunin guards left behind, the majority of the Iwa camp he was currently being held in was empty. Supplies were low, but carriers couldn't get through because of Leaf raids on their caravans. Finally desperate, the base commander sent squads out to guard them on their journey to the camp. With one scrawny little Leaf jounin chained to a wall, he didn't think he would be compromised.

_'Hmph. Stupid fools, underestimating a shinobi of the Leaf.'_

Knowing it was now or never, Kakashi took one last breath and roughly jerked and twisted his left hand, letting out a grunt of pain as he felt the bones snap. Eyes watering, he manuvered his hand around until the bones compressed enough to allow him to slip it through the shackle. Kakashi bit back a small sob of pain. It wasn't over yet. He placed his hand against the wall and pressed until his bones slid back into place. Reaching up, he grabbed the shackle holding his right hand in place and yanked roughly until it came loose, biting his lip until it bled to keep from screaming.

_'Heh, Obito wouldn't have stood a chance. The crybaby.'_ Thinking about his teammates hurt. He missed them terribly. Obito, with his lound mouth and way he constantly annoyed him, Rin and her gentle smile and soft demeanor, Sensei with his huge grin and perpetual happiness, and the way he without a doubt loved his students.

He missed his family.

He forced his abused body to limp to the other side of the room, his broken ribs screaming in protest. In a show of arrogance, the Iwa nin had left all of his supplies laid out on a table in the room, just to taunt him. Kakashi shook his head. Such arrogance was foolish and in this case would seal their doom. He grabbed all of his weapons and strapped his kunai holster to his leg. Once that was taken care of, he grabbed the items that he desperately needed. His supply of food pills. He took one and put the rest in his pocket, letting out a sigh of relief as energy rushed through him. He would be able to igore most of his wounds now, even his hand.

Kakashi looked down in digust at the useless appendage. He knew it was necessary, but it put him at a huge disadvantage. If he ran into any enemy nin before he made it back to Fire Country, he would only be able to fight with one hand. At least he had had the sense to break his left hand, leaving his dominant hand fully functionable.

Knowing there was no time to lose, Kakashi headed toward the door. As he reached it he hesitated. How the hell was he supposed to get out of there? He had been blindfolded and half-conscious when he'd been brought in, he didn't even know the layout of the camp! Let alone the fact that he didn't know what part of Earth Country he was in, or even is he was in Earth Country.

Suddenly he had an idea. He took his right thumb and wiped a wound that was still sluggishly bleeding in his left shoulder, and formed the necessary seals.

_"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"_

In a poof of smoke the silent room was filled with the barking of Kakashi's ninken. Kakashi winced, if the enemy heard them, they'd come running.

"Oi! Shut it will ya!" a gruff voice shouted.

The barking ceased immediately.

"Thank you, Pakkun." Kakashi said gratefully. He listened for the sound of approaching footsteps. Hearing none he returned his attention to his ninken.

"No problem, brat," Pakkun stated. His eyes roamed over his master's bruised and bloody form. He didn't like what he saw. "What on earth happened to you?"

"I'll explain later, right now I need your help." Kakashi said. "I need you to help me get out of here, as I'm sure you can see I'm not exactly in top condition. Also, I need you to lead me back to Konoha. I think I'm somewhere in Earth Country but I'm not exactly sure where."

The dogs nodded in unison and spread out around their master.

"Thanks guys," Kakashi smiled at them. Looking at the door, Kakashi channeled chakra into his foot and kicked it roughly. The door flew off its hinges and slammed into the adjacent wall. Kakashi winced again. If the Iwa nin didn't think he was escaping before, they sure as hell did now.

"Hey!"

_'Figures.'_ Kakashi turned towards the figure running towards him. The nin was young, maybe a few years older than Kakashi, but not nearly as intellegent. He let out a loud yell and drew a kunai, but failed to notice that two of Kakashi's larger ninken had appeared behind him until they had each latched on to one of his arms. He continued to yell and thrash about until Kakashi silenced him with a kunai through his throat.

Without stopping Kakashi lept over the body as it crumpled to the ground and headed for the entrance to the building, dogs in tow. He stopped as he reached it and cautiously looked out the peep hole.

The building that had served as Kakashi's prison was the only sturdy structure in the whole camp. The rest of the camp consisted of ten large tents spread out in a semi-circle around it. A few nin lounged about with nothing to do until their supplies arrived. Kakashi knew even with his dogs he wouldn't be able to fight his way through all of them. Not in his condition. He grinned as a plan began to form and turned to his dogs.

"I want you guys to meet me in the forest, okay?" He ordered. Pakkun stared incredulously at him.

"Are you crazy!? There's no way you'll get out of here without us!"

Kakashi merely grinned at them as he formed seals with his hands. "Henge!"

As the resulting poof of smoke cleared, the young Iwa nin they had just killed stood where Kakashi had been moments before. Pakkun grinned at him and the rest of the ninken let out soft howls of approval.

"Not bad, kid." With another poof of smoke he and the other dogs disappeared.

Kakashi took a deep breath and opened the door. A few of the nin glanced at him. "The leaf runt still alive?" One of them shouted.

Kakashi grinned at them. "Yeah, the little punk's still hanging in there."

The man who had asked barked out a laugh. "He's not gonna last much longer when Nato gets back, man he was so pissed when he couldn't break the kid before! He's gonna pull out all the stops this time!" The other nin listening laughed along with the man, so none of them noticed the way Kakashi's eyes clouded and teeth clenched at the mention of his tormentor.

Forcing out another grin, he laughed with them. "Yeah, it's gonna be fun to watch." As they continued to chuckle, he made his way swiftly to the edge of the camp. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the man shouted again.

"Hey! Where ya going Sano?"

It took all of Kakashi's self control not to flinch and he turned. "Gotta take a leak," he said while rubbing his head sheepishly.

"Again? That's what you get for drinking the last of our water rations punk!" The man smirked at him and turned away.

Kakashi turned and lept into the trees before anyone else called to him. He let out a grunt as the pain from his wounds flared up from the action.

_'Gotta keep moving. Soon enough they're going to discover the body and send a search for me.' _He released the illusion as he felt it draining his strength.

"Pretty good acting kid, never knew ya had it in you!" Startled, Kakashi whipped his head around, only to relax as he saw his dogs move into formation around him, Pakkun in front of him.

"I learned from the best," he said, smiling ruefully as his sensei's face popped into his mind.

Pakkun glanced back as he sensed the shift in Kakashi's mood, but didn't comment.

"Keep behind me, the border is about 20 miles due south of here, I'll lead you."

* * *

_"And where do you think you're going?"_

Minato whipped around and gasped at the figures before him.

"You! How'd you get past the guards!?"

Rin and Obito just smirked at him. "You'd be surprised at how easy it is to slip by when you're distracting the guards sensei. This was even better than our original plan!" Obito said cockily.

"I think Jiraiya-sama winked at us though." Rin stated thoughtfully.

Minato was torn between pride at his student's cunning and annoyance at the fact that they followed him. Pride put up a pretty good fight, but in the end the annoyance won.

"What are you two doing here! This mission is dangerous!" He said sternly.

Rin's and Obito's grins simultaneously turned to looks of outrage. Minato winced.

"Don't even think about leaving us behind!" Obito shouted angrily. "If it wasn't for us, you wouldn't even know Kakashi was alive!"

"We're a family, Sensei," Rin said firmly. "Family looks out for each other, and we're going to be there for Kakashi no matter what."

Minato sighed. "Fine, but stay close to me at all times unless I tell you otherwise. I've already gone through the pain of losing Kakashi, don't make me feel that again." Rin and Obito's defensive expressions softened.

"Don't worry about us Sensei," Rin said softly. "We'll be okay. But remember, we felt that pain too, don't make us feel it for you."

Minato felt his eyes water and pulled the two of them into a hug.

"No matter what happens," he whispered. "I want you to know that I love you, all of you, so much."

His two students hugged him back tightly. "We love you too, Sensei," Obito mumbled against his chest. Rin nodded.

Minato pulled back and wiped his eyes. "Let's go get Kakashi." He said determinedly. There was a hardness in his eyes that Rin and Obito only ever saw when his students were in danger.

"Yes sir!"

Without looking back, the remainder of Team Yellow Flash lept into the trees.

* * *

A/N: the part where Kashi-kun broke his hand to escape, I have no idea if that's even possible, I read it in a story somewhere so just go with it.

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